Once upon a time there was a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occurred. On that coast was a little lifesaving hut, very crude, with only one boat. But there were a few devoted members who gave of themselves day and night, at the risk of their own lives, to rescue those who had been shipwrecked.
Soon the little station became famous because so many lives
were saved. Others wanted to be associated with this enterprise and gave time
and money to the effort to buy new boats and train more crew members. After a
while some members grew unhappy with the poorly equipped center, so they
enlarged the building and put in better furnishings. Immediately the lifesaving
station grew in popularity as a gathering place, a place to be seen and it
turned into a club.
As time passed fewer members were interested in the
dangerous work of saving lives at sea, so they hired professional crews to do
the work. Even though lifesaving motifs were prominent in the décor and the
image of a lifeboat was stitched into every club wearable, the membership
rarely even spoke of the original mission.
About this time there was a titanic shipwreck a few miles
off the coast. The professional crews began bringing in scores of cold,
half-drowned, dirty survivors into the club. The response of the property
committee was to install outdoor showers and some crude bunks where victims
could clean up and recuperate before making their way into town.
Soon a split developed among the members of the club. At a
meeting they voted to discontinue lifesaving activities because they had become
a hindrance to their social lives. The majority prevailed and the minority were
told that they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast if
they’d like. And they did.
As the years went by, the new station went through exactly
the same changes as the old one. It evolved into a club and another station was
founded. History repeated itself up and down that coastline. Today visitors can
find a number of exclusive clubs all along those 200 miles. Shipwrecks are
still frequent, but most victims now simply drown.
In Sunday’s text, Genesis 16, we see a perfect portrait of this
parable perpetrated not by the Canaanites, or the Kenites, or some pagan sect,
but by the children of the promise – Abram and Sarai. Remember the divine charge
– “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth with my presence and glory.” The
charge was to spread the grace of God around to others. They were blessed to be
a blessing, but here these children of promise use and abuse a member of their own
household. Rather than embracing her in her need, they shun her. After the
glorious events of chapters 14 and 15, where God enfolds them in His loving
embrace, they cast Hagar out of their sight.
After nearly 40 years of ordained ministry I have seen a lot
of casting away by the children of promise. Those who have been most richly
blessed with spiritual hunger and insight, rather than living with a trusting
heart and outstretched arms grow more and more insular and rigid in their own
self-aggrandizing convictions. Instead of having eyes on the God of Compassion,
they fix their eyes on themselves and their firm conclusions regarding others
around them.
Oh what a powerful and pointed reminder the story of Hagar
is! We will dig deeply into it this week in a message entitled, “Ishmael”. In
preparation for the message, you may wish to consider the following:
1. On what grounds does Sarai give her servant, Hagar, to
Abram?
2. What’s her motive in doing this?
3. How is Sarai’s decision the opposite of grace? (see Galatians
4:21-31)
4. What’s Sarai’s reaction to Hagar becoming pregnant? Can you
think of other parallels in scripture?
5. How does her perception of Hagar’s contempt morph into her
own contempt, and why?
6. What does her statement, “May the Lord judge between you and
me!” (verse 5) mean?
7. How does verse 6 perfectly reflect our natural heart
condition?
8. How does this show His compassion and His outward gaze?
9. How does the angel’s statement in verse 10 verify God’s
unchanging intention?
10. How do the names Ishmael and Beer-lahai-roi reveal to us the
character of God?
See you Sunday!
